You Gotta Be a Football Hero

Fleischer Studios, particularly in the early years, did some extremely visually well-crafted cartoons. Most of the more unusual ones were Koko the Clown and Betty Boop shorts, but there were a number of Popeye shorts that are notable for great visual bits too. The most interesting ones here are Popeye giving new meaning to the nickname "Crazylegs" and Olive doing a cheer on the sidelines for Bluto (yes, Bluto-Olive is fickle, remember?) that reveals she's a contortionist. While not as good as Football Toucher Downer, this has its moments and a running gag that features Wimpy. What else can you ask for? There is a colorized version. The black and white is superior. Well worth watching. Recommended.

You Gotta Be a Football Hero (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Olive Oyl forces Popeye to go to a football game where she ends up leaving him for Bluto, In order to win her back Popeye joins the other team. The highlight of this film is a scene where Popeye think he has the football and is running it back for a touchdown but in reality he just has Bluto's head and is dragging him. The football action is pretty nice throughout as Popeye ends up having to plan the other team by himself. Wimpy appears in a couple scenes and adds some nice laughs as well.

Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

'You Gotta Be a Football Hero' is one of the best Popeye cartoons from this period and one of my personal favourites actually of the whole series. Have always enjoyed many of the Popeye cartoons a good deal and like Popeye very much, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto. 'You Gotta Be a Football Hero' has everything that makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting.

The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). It is a familiar premise, and wasn't new around then, but it is one of the best examples of it because of the fresh and funny execution and that there were characters worth caring for. The humour and gags make it even more entertaining, avoiding the trap of repetition. Football action in animation rarely was this insane or inventive and it is so exciting and fun to watch, with a snappy pace and beautifully crafted and sometimes creative visuals.

All three characters are great, though Olive Oyl is a little underused as she did tend to be around this point. Popeye and Bluto are spot on and their chemistry drives 'You Gotta Be a Football Hero' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable and his role here is imaginatively handled but for me Bluto is here the funnier and more interesting character.

Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is also outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.

Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality.

Overall, wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox

AS IS THE case in all of the POPEYE Series, this short makes use of a small number of repertory company "players"; having been recruited from the THIMBLE THEATRE/POPEYE Comic Strip. Hence, we find Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto and J. Wellington Wimpy (Wimpy for short) assuming different roles in a variety of situations.

AS IS THE norm for these shorts, we find very little to zero in the category of continuity. Normal conditions here are non existent. Most of the scenarios revolve around many a subject that is a far cry from the sea going trade of protagonist Popeye and antagonist Bluto. The one unifying element is a universal employment of the "eternal triangle" and its effect on the three participants.

BEING THAT FOOTBALL was by this time a major force in the American sports diet, it was chosen as the subject. This appears to have no pretense to the Collegiate game, as there is no representation of any fictional college trappings. Not a pennant, marching band nor organized cheering section is depicted. There is an allusion to cheer-leading by a female, namely Olive (who else), which also serves as a catalyst for bringing some variety of sight gags to the screen.

AS FOR THE competing teams, we have Bluto's bunch; being a huge bunch of ruffians like their QB & Captain. Bluto, like Julius Caesar befor him, wears a different colored jersey/tunic to distinguish himself from the "troops."

THE OPPOSITION ON the other hand, is made up of what Bluto calls "runts"; that is smaller or even regular sized guys like our Popeye, who eventually recruit his help in playing the game. (Gee, what a surprise).

WE MUST MAKE mention of some of the original gags that were displayed to good effect here. First off, we are treated to a visual pun in our first long distance and the gradual close-up viewing of the football stadium. These are most often referred to as "bowls", due to their shape and expanding seating areas. So,Director Dave Fleischer gave us a real "bowl" shape here.

AS USUAL THE handy can of spinach saves the day! Now that should be no surprise and definitely wouldn't qualify as a "spoiler."

While this is a perfect cartoon to watch during this fall/football season, the reason I watched this one in particular right now is because this was the last one with original Popeye voice William Costello doing him. It seems he had a swelled head and was fired by Max Fleischer as a result. Jack Mercer-who was part of the studio staff at the time and did impersonations of Costello as the cartoon character to many of his colleagues' pleasure-replaced him and continued doing the voice for the rest of his lifetime. Anyway, Bluto is the football hero Olive Oyl loves which gets Popeye jealous so he joins the other team. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a funny cartoon to watch with many of the gags one associates with the Fleischer brothers (as usual, Dave Fleischer is credited as director but since he's always printed as such with each cartoon from the studio, that's a bit doubtful). Anyway, that's a recommendation for You Gotta Be a Football Hero.